Andre Drummond was openly unhappy after the Detroit Pistons traded him to the Cleveland Cavaliers back in February, but that seemingly had more to do with the way his former team handled the situation than anything else. Now that Drummond has spent a few months as a member of the Cavs, he may be enjoying himself enough to stick around for the long haul.
Drummond announced earlier this week that he will exercise his $28.75 million option for the 2020-21 season, which was expected given all the uncertainty surrounding sports at the moment. However, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reports that Drummond and the Cavs have both shown interest in working out a long-term contract extension.
One potential complication could arise if the Cavaliers find themselves in position to draft former Memphis star center James Wiseman. As Fedor notes, Cleveland may prefer having more flexibility for the future rather than give Drummond a max contract extension if they’re drafting his eventual replacement. Drummond and Wiseman also share the same agent, which could potentially make the situation even more complicated.
Drummond is still just 26, and the Cavs haven’t seen a whole lot of him. He appeared in just eight games for Cleveland before the season was suspended, averaging 17.5 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. Drummond will be able to sign an extension with the Cavs in October, but it may make more sense for them to see how things play out next season.
While the Cavs have just 19 wins this season and won 19 games all of last year, Drummond seemed more bothered by the way the Pistons handled the trade than he was about being sent to a struggling franchise. Depending upon how the market shakes out with all the financial uncertainty surrounding sports leagues, Drummond may find that he wants to remain in Cleveland more than the Cavs want him to stick around.
